Acetic Acid → 2-(2,3,5-Trichlorophenyl)-4-methoxy-3-oxo-butyronitrile

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Reaction Steps

To a stirred refluxing solution of sodium ethoxide (from 1.38 g sodium) in ethanol (25 ml) was added over 5 minutes a mixture of 2,3,5-trichlorophenylacetonitrile (11 g) and ethyl methoxyacetate (8.85 g) in dry DME (25 ml). After 4 hours the mixture was cooled on ice and acidified by dropwise addition of acetic acid (ca. 6 ml), diluted with ice-water (150 ml) and extracted with dichloromethane (2×100 ml). The dichloromethane extract was washed with water, dried over MgSO4 and concentrated giving a yellow solid, which was triturated with a little ether and filtered. 8.6 g Homogeneous by TLC (19:1 CH2Cl2 :MeOH).

Provenance & Evidence